My apologies for how long it took to crank this chapter out. My muse is a crafty little bugger, likes to disappear at the most inopportune times. I forced as little as possible, to make sure it didn't suck too badly, but.... eh?
"No way, B! No fucken way!!" Faith protested later that day, looking horrified that I even suggested it.
"Well you have to go, don't you?"
"I... Just..."
"I'm not going to let you wet my bed just to save you some embarrassment."
"What about your ma, can't she do it?"
"She's at work. Now are you going to let me do this, or are you going to put up a fight?"
"This is so stupid..." She grumbled, trying to get up on her own but failing miserably. She gave up and fell back into bed, wincing in pain. "Fuck! God, fuck, this is such bullshit!"
"Oh quit being such a grouch and let's just get it over with." I sighed. She didn't show any more signs of protest, other than the adorable and very tempting pout, so I leaned down to scoop her into my arms as carefully as possible. "You okay?"
"'Side from my pride, yeah, nothin' I can't handle." She grimaced. "Just try not to move so much, my ribs hurt like a bitch."
"Sorry. Giles did say you probably sprained a few..."
I walked a little slower, carrying her into the bathroom and setting her down on the toilet. When I looked down I noticed... no way, she's actually blushing!
"Please say you're gonna leave now." She pleaded.
"Why? You're only going to need to get back up in a minute."
"Fuck, B! What we gonna do when I gotta take a shit, ya gonna stand there with a can of Lysol?!"
"Of course not, I can leave the room for that and you can just shout when you're done. The Lysol might be a good idea though..."
"You're enjoyin' this, aren't you?"
"Yes, Faith. I'm enjoying the way my girlfriend is in too much pain to use the bathroom on her own."
"Whatever." She grumbled. "Don't think I'm gonna let you wipe though, 'cause that would be all sorts of creepy."
"Agreed."
The next week and a half were spent in pretty much the exact same way. Me carrying Faith to the bathroom when she had to go, and her with a constant blush. It was adorable, enough so to even get over the ick factor of all the bathroom visits. Anyways, now that enough time has passed, it's getting harder and harder to do things for her. She's just so stubborn.
"I can get up myself today." She insisted, as I left to retrieve her breakfast. I stopped in the doorway to shoot her a look. "Don't gimme that, you haven't let me do shit all week so I'm probably totally healed by now."
"What about your ribs, and all those other internal injuries? We can't exactly check to see if you're healed up right on the inside, and I don't want you pulling anything."
"I feel fine."
"You said that the morning after you got hurt, why should I believe you now?"
"Uh... 'Cause of the way I got such an honest face?"
"Try again." I sighed, trying not to cave at the dimpled grin she's trying to win me over with. I can't let it be that easy.
"Aww c'mon, B! At least lemme try." She pouted. I winced, unable to hold it back. I don't want her to know the power she has over me already, but it's probably too late anyways. "Please?"
"..... Okay, fine. But you make just one little face, and that's it." She rolled her eyes but nodded, signaling she understood the agreement. I was surprised by how far she got before stopping to cringe in pain. She nearly made it all the way off of the bed. "Alright you tried, now lay back down."
"I don't need no babysitter, B, I'm fine!" She argued, before pulling another face. "AH! Goddammit that fucken hurts like a motherfuck!!"
I walked over to help ease her back into bed, trying my best to ignore the disgruntled complaints I was getting in response.
"Just sit still and try not to cause any more damage, you little firecracker." I smirked. She froze then, another cringe showing itself, and probably not from the physical pain this time. "What is it?"
"Nothin', just...." She shook her head. "Never mind."
"Faith." She caved, looking back to me. "Tell me."
"It's just that... I dunno, my ma used to call me that. Firecracker."
I sat down at the edge of the bed and took hold of both of her hands, ready to do the 'good girlfriend' duties I pride myself on being so good at.
"Tell me about your family, Faith." I prodded, hoping now would be the time she would finally open up on the touchy subject. I've been curious about it since first meeting her, but she always gets so closed off at the mere mention of them.
"Tell ya what..." She sighed, the hint of a smirk showing up. "Bring me some food and i'll answer any damn questions ya got. I'm hungry as shit."
"Sounds fair enough to me." I giggled, enjoying the little grin I got in response. I quickly made my way down to the kitchen to pile as much food as possible - that mom cooked of course, I'm not great in the cooking department so I'd probably wind up setting the bottle of juice on fire or something - on to the tray, carrying it back upstairs. What I found upon walking back into my room was Faith itching and biting at her stitches, making a weird growling noise. "Faith!"
She looked up at me with a total 'deer caught in the headlights' expression, which would be funny if it wasn't so frustrating.
"Huh? I wasn't doin' nothin'!"
"Do I need to get you one of those little collars from the vet or something?"
"I wasn't doing anything, geez!" I shot her a disbelieving look, because after all this isn't the first time I've caught her gnawing at those stitches. I'm getting a little sick of telling her to knock it off. "Okay fine, so maybe I was. I can't help it, the things are wicked itchy." She started sniffing the air, her attention suddenly being captured by the food I'm holding up. "So I get to eat now or are ya gonna hit me on the nose with a newspaper or somethin'?"
"You can eat." I smirked, walking over to set the tray down on her lap. "If only because it'll distract you..."
"Oh, sweet! Your ma picked up some more Sunny D!" She shouted excitedly, quickly snatching up the little bottle to open it up. Come to think of it, 'Sunny D' is kind of an ironic beverage of choice, isn't it? Huh. I didn't realize that until just now.
"I didn't know you liked it so much."
"Oh, I love it. My nana always used to stock the fridge with it for when I would come over..."
I immediately went back into 'good girlfriend' mode, sitting at the edge of the bed and getting ready to listen to anything she had to say.
"What happened, Faith?"
She sighed, setting down the bottle and picking up a fork.
"Lotta shit happened, gotta be more specific with your questions."
"What happened with your family. Tell me everything, the whole gory story."
"Sure 'bout that, B?" She asked, staring down at her plate in a way that makes me think she's trying to avoid eye contact.
"Well, yeah... Why wouldn't I be?"
"I dunno. I mean, it's not all that interesting or whatever..."
I tried not to roll my eyes, or do anything else that might make her change her mind again, even though I'm getting really frustrated here.
"I asked you about it, didn't I? Why would I ask if I didn't really want to know?" She looked like she was about to respond with some sarcastic comment, so I held a hand up. "Don't answer that."
"You want me to talk or not?"
"Sorry."
"Okay then." She shrugged, taking her time chewing a bite of waffles. I think she's trying to tick me off, but there's no way I'm saying anything about it. She's being really touchy. "So I guess we start from the beginning or whatever." She finally said, before taking another bite. At least she's chewing faster now.
"My earliest memories weren't that bad, actually. Parents were nice, made sure I went to school every day and all that. We even had these big family dinners... Only nights we didn't were the full moon ones, though it took a long time to figure out why. Anyways, my parents started spending more and more time away from home, didn't say why, just made me and my brothers stay and they didn't come back until the next morning. Sometimes they'd be gone a few days at a time..."
She paused, looking down at her plate of waffles as she started to kind of poke and stab at them, obviously getting a little agitated at some of the memories that are resurfacing.
"I started goin' to see my nana during the times they were away, she said I was always welcome there whenever I wanted. 'Cept for 3 days outta every month, of course... It was like some sorta unspoken agreement with the whole family. But it was cool 'cause my parents weren't home then either, I'd just hang with my brothers. Sometimes on the other nights I'd show up at nana's as early as 3 in the morning, scared outta my mind when my dad would show up and cuss me out, but she didn't care. Always took care of me."
Her tone changed to one of more warmth and respect, and she got a little smile while clearly thinking back to some of the happier times of her past. I couldn't help but smile back, and wonder just what exactly she's thinking.
"She was like, the exact image in your mind when ya think of the word 'grandmother'. She would always be baking somethin', usually cookies 'cause I've never been able to get enough of 'em. Hell she even knitted sweaters and crap." Faith chuckled. "Taught me how to do it one night. It was late, my parents had gotten into one of their fights in the house so I snuck outta my bedroom window and ran all the way there to see her. My hands were shakin' like crazy 'cause of how worked up I was, so she said she'd teach me somethin' to help steady 'em out."
Her eyes got all wide then, I guess realizing what she just admitted because of the huge smile I'm now sporting. I can't help it, it's so cute! Her grandmother taught her how to knit!
"That's somethin' you're takin' to the grave, B. I'm serious."
"Oh come on, I think it's adorable." I pouted, wishing she wouldn't be so embarrassed even though it makes the whole situation all the more delicious.
"Yeah. That's the point." She grumbled, focusing on the plate again as a blush spread across her face. I think I've fallen just a little bit harder for the girl... "So can I eat now? I'm fucken starved here."
"Fair enough." I giggled, making sure to store the whole knitting story for future teasing since I'm totally not letting it go that easy. For now though i'll just let her eat in peace. Speaking of which, looks like I need to bring her some seconds...